Chennai end all speculation

Maybe it was the intriguing last-minute scramble for the final four spots that saw more than 25,000 walk in on a weekday...

Maybe it was the intriguing last-minute scramble for the final four spots that saw more than 25,000 walk in on a weekday at the Rajiv Gandhi International cricket stadium here. With Deccan Chargers repeatedly disappointing the locals, the curiosity about knowing the fate of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians resulted in jam-packed stands.

Just like every other team that arrived in Hyderabad ever since the first match was played about a month back, Super Kings walked away winners and in the bargain pushed Mumbai Indians out of contention.

Deccan Chargers won the toss, elected to bat first, lost their way and never recovered. After scoring a mere 147 runs in 20 overs, Deccan came up with a lackadaisical effort on field. Their bowling effort comprised of wayward spells 8212; with the exception of Shahid Afridi and Scott Styris 8212; and their butter-fingered fielding approach too was disappointing. Hyderabad8217;s failure hurt Mumbai the most. Though Mumbai have another match to go, with 12 points in their kitty, even a victory over Bangalore Royal Challenges in their last game will see them trailing Delhi Daredevils 15 and Super Kings 16.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Super Kings from the front, despite twisting his ankle during the net session just an hour before the match was scheduled to begin. Call it commitment or lack of options, he played his role perfectly despite the obvious pain. After the toss, as Super Kings fielded first, Dhoni marshaled his troops proficiently and made a vital contribution of 37.

The day, however, belonged to the left-hander Suresh Raina. His 54 off 43 balls not only remained the highest individual score of the day, but the unbeaten effort ensured Chennai a victory with four balls to go. Chennai star cheerleader drummer Gopal Sivamani8212;who has been touring with the team8212;was silent for most part of the match. Given the uncertainties of Twenty20, he waited until his team required 12 runs from nine balls and Raina still going strong, before he brought out the sticks.

While Deccan now have all the time to think and evaluate what went wrong for them in this inaugural year, Super Kings can now start gearing up to meet Kings XI Punjab in the second semi-final on Saturday. In the first semi-final, to be played on Friday, Rajasthan Royals will meet Delhi Daredevils.

Meanwhile, the richest team of the tournament, Mumbai Indians, can take a break too. Even calculators, finally, will have no more use in the tournament.